[Jewelry making - Article 00113] - Re: [Orchid] The casting not hand made discussion

[Jim Reitze]

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    I don't really care if I can stamp my work 'handmade', specifically.
     What I try to distinguish is the concept of marketing one's own work
    vs. buying other people's designs from a catalog and reselling them
    after some finishing work.  In the case of most of the charms I
    produce, there is no technical difference between what I do with
    those and what I would do if I were buying raw castings from another
    source.  The difference is that the designs are mine, not someone
    elses.  I was discussing off list some of the parallel problems of
    terminology in the food industry.  One way it is dealt with there is
    the use of the word 'style', as in Virginia STYLE ham, home STYLE
    bread.........  Sadly it doesn't sound right here. 

    I know many artists, of the drawing, painting, etc, variety, who
    sell prints from their originals.  Those are what I usually buy, as
    they are what I can afford.  I know the prints are commercially
    produced from an original, and that is why they are affordable.  The
    artist doesn't have the many hours of work into each individual
    print.  What makes a difference to me is that I can buy the print
    from the artist who created the origninal when I go to street fairs,
    studios or galleries.  On the other side, there are prints available
    of many more 'famous' works and artists that have nothing to do with
    that artist.  To me, there is no connection with that artist when I
    buy from some mall store that sells prints of notable works by the
    hundreds. Another category entirely is the artist who creates an
    original, then hires other painters to create copies of that, a
    situation that often has more than one person working on these
    recreations.  This brings into play the concept of sole authorship. 

    What I am looking for is a way to distinguish myself from those
    sellers who are buying castings from some outside source (or other
    mass produced parts), doing some assembly and finish work, and then
    marketing those pieces, often as handcrafted.  I know that the higher
    end juried shows and fancy galleries have ways of eliminating those
    folks, but not all of us circulate in that headier atmosphere.  I try
    to sell through local shops in a tourist area, where many customers,
    if they understand the distinction I am trying for, will pay the
    price for my type of goods over the cheap imports stuff.  Even if I
    am not present, I am local, and that seems to have a certain appeal.
     I think most of them understand that I can't afford to 'handmake'
    each individual charm, or ring, or whatever, for the prices that my
    pieces sell for.  Like those prints above, they know that the
    reproducibility equals affordability.  It is the sense of identity
    that goes with buying from the artist, or pieces by a local artist,
    that seems to be a selling point. Obviously, this thread has touched
    a lot of sore nerves, mine included, judging from the amount of
    traffic it has generated and the emotions that are showing.  No
    matter what level of artistry we are all involved in, or what medium,
    we are all challenged by cheap knockoffs in this soft economy. Some
    is actual copyright infringement, but most isn't, so there is really
    nothing we can do but try to reach people with the benefits of
    buying our products over the cheap stuff. I guess I'm venting, too. 
    Thanks all, for listening again. Jim


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